Christ! [
Long pause
.] Left soon afterwards, passed you on the road, didn’t see her, looking out to. . . . [
Pause
.] Can’t have been looking out to
sea
.[
Pause
.] Unless you had gone round the other side. [
Pause
.] Had you gone round the cliff side? [
Pause
.] Father! [
Pause
.] Must have I suppose. [
Pause
.] Stands watching you a moment, then on down path to tram, up on open top and sits down in front. [
Pause
.] Sits down in front. [
Pause
.] Suddenly feels uneasy and gets down again, conductor: “Changed your mind, Miss?,” goes back up path, no sign of you. [
Pause
.] Very unhappy and uneasy, hangs round a bit, not a soul about, cold wind coming in off sea, goes back down path and takes tram home. [
Pause
.] Takes tram home. [
Pause
.] Christ! [
Pause
.] “My dear Bolton. . . .” [
Pause
.] “If it’s an injection you want, Bolton, let down your trousers and I’ll give you one, I have a panhysterectomy at nine,” meaning of course the anaesthetic. [
Pause
.] Fire out, bitter cold, white world, great trouble, not a sound. [
Pause
.] Bolton starts playing with the curtain, no, hanging, difficult to describe, draws it back no, kindof gathers it towards him and the moon comes flooding in, then lets it fall back, heavy velvet affair, and pitch black in the room, then towards him again, white, black, white, black, Holloway: “Stop that for the love of God, Bolton, do you want to finish me?” [
Pause
.] Black, white, black, white, maddening thing. [
Pause
.] Then he suddenly strikes a match, Bolton does, lights a candle, catches it up above his head, walks over and looks Holloway full in the eye. [
Pause
.] Not a word, just the look, the old blue eye, very glassy, lids worn thin, lashes gone, whole thing swimming, and the candle shaking over his head. [
Pause
.] Tears? [
Pause. Long laugh
.] Good God no! [
Pause
.] Not a word, just the look, the old blue eye, Holloway: “If you want a shot say so and let me get to hell out of here.” [
Pause
.] “We’ve had this before, Bolton, don’t ask me to go through it again.” [
Pause
.] Bolton: “Please!” [
Pause
.] “Please!” [
Pause
.] “Please, Holloway!” [
Pause
.] Candle shaking and guttering all over the place, lower now, old arm tired takes it in the other hand and holds it high again, that’s it, that was always it, night, and the embers cold, and the glim shaking in your old fist, saying, Please! Please! [
Pause
.] Begging. [
Pause
.] Of the poor. [
Pause
.] Ada! [
Pause
.] Father! [
Pause
.] Christ! [
Pause
.] Holds it high again, naughty world, fixes Holloway, eyes drowned, won’t ask again, just the look, Holloway covers his face, not a sound, white world, bitter cold, ghastly scene, old men, great trouble, no good. [
Pause
.] No good. [
Pause
.] Christ! [
Pause. Shingle as he gets up. He goes towards sea. Boots on shingle. He halts. Pause. Sea a little louder
.] On. [
Pause. He moves on. Boots on shingle. He halts at water’s edge. Pause. Sea a little louder
.] Little book. [
Pause
.] This evening. . . . [
Pause
.] Nothing this evening. [
Pause
.] Tomorrow . . . tomorrow . . . plumber at nine, then nothing. [
Pause
.
Puzzled
.] Plumber at nine? [
Pause
.] Ah yes, the waste. [
Pause
.] Words. [
Pause
.] Saturday . . . nothing. Sunday . . . Sunday . . . nothing all day. [
Pause
.] Nothing, all day nothing. [
Pause
.] All day all night nothing. [
Pause
.] Not a sound.
ROUGH FOR RADIO I
HE
[
gloomily
] Madam.
SHE
Are you all right? [
Pause
.] You asked me to come.
HE
I ask no one to come here.
SHE
You suffered me to come.
HE
I meet my debts.
[
Pause
.]
SHE
I have come to listen.
HE
When you please.
[
Pause
.]
SHE
May I squat on this hassock? [
Pause
.] Thank you. [
Pause
.] May we have a little heat?
HE
No, madam.
[
Pause
.]
SHE
Is it true the music goes on all the time?
HE
Yes.
SHE
Without cease?
HE
Without cease.
SHE
It’s unthinkable! [
Pause
.] And the words too? All the time too?
HE
All the time.
SHE
Without cease?
HE
Yes.
SHE
It’s
Long pause
.] Left soon afterwards, passed you on the road, didn’t see her, looking out to. . . . [
Pause
.] Can’t have been looking out to
sea
.[
Pause
.] Unless you had gone round the other side. [
Pause
.] Had you gone round the cliff side? [
Pause
.] Father! [
Pause
.] Must have I suppose. [
Pause
.] Stands watching you a moment, then on down path to tram, up on open top and sits down in front. [
Pause
.] Sits down in front. [
Pause
.] Suddenly feels uneasy and gets down again, conductor: “Changed your mind, Miss?,” goes back up path, no sign of you. [
Pause
.] Very unhappy and uneasy, hangs round a bit, not a soul about, cold wind coming in off sea, goes back down path and takes tram home. [
Pause
.] Takes tram home. [
Pause
.] Christ! [
Pause
.] “My dear Bolton. . . .” [
Pause
.] “If it’s an injection you want, Bolton, let down your trousers and I’ll give you one, I have a panhysterectomy at nine,” meaning of course the anaesthetic. [
Pause
.] Fire out, bitter cold, white world, great trouble, not a sound. [
Pause
.] Bolton starts playing with the curtain, no, hanging, difficult to describe, draws it back no, kindof gathers it towards him and the moon comes flooding in, then lets it fall back, heavy velvet affair, and pitch black in the room, then towards him again, white, black, white, black, Holloway: “Stop that for the love of God, Bolton, do you want to finish me?” [
Pause
.] Black, white, black, white, maddening thing. [
Pause
.] Then he suddenly strikes a match, Bolton does, lights a candle, catches it up above his head, walks over and looks Holloway full in the eye. [
Pause
.] Not a word, just the look, the old blue eye, very glassy, lids worn thin, lashes gone, whole thing swimming, and the candle shaking over his head. [
Pause
.] Tears? [
Pause. Long laugh
.] Good God no! [
Pause
.] Not a word, just the look, the old blue eye, Holloway: “If you want a shot say so and let me get to hell out of here.” [
Pause
.] “We’ve had this before, Bolton, don’t ask me to go through it again.” [
Pause
.] Bolton: “Please!” [
Pause
.] “Please!” [
Pause
.] “Please, Holloway!” [
Pause
.] Candle shaking and guttering all over the place, lower now, old arm tired takes it in the other hand and holds it high again, that’s it, that was always it, night, and the embers cold, and the glim shaking in your old fist, saying, Please! Please! [
Pause
.] Begging. [
Pause
.] Of the poor. [
Pause
.] Ada! [
Pause
.] Father! [
Pause
.] Christ! [
Pause
.] Holds it high again, naughty world, fixes Holloway, eyes drowned, won’t ask again, just the look, Holloway covers his face, not a sound, white world, bitter cold, ghastly scene, old men, great trouble, no good. [
Pause
.] No good. [
Pause
.] Christ! [
Pause. Shingle as he gets up. He goes towards sea. Boots on shingle. He halts. Pause. Sea a little louder
.] On. [
Pause. He moves on. Boots on shingle. He halts at water’s edge. Pause. Sea a little louder
.] Little book. [
Pause
.] This evening. . . . [
Pause
.] Nothing this evening. [
Pause
.] Tomorrow . . . tomorrow . . . plumber at nine, then nothing. [
Pause
.
Puzzled
.] Plumber at nine? [
Pause
.] Ah yes, the waste. [
Pause
.] Words. [
Pause
.] Saturday . . . nothing. Sunday . . . Sunday . . . nothing all day. [
Pause
.] Nothing, all day nothing. [
Pause
.] All day all night nothing. [
Pause
.] Not a sound.
ROUGH FOR RADIO I
HE
[
gloomily
] Madam.
SHE
Are you all right? [
Pause
.] You asked me to come.
HE
I ask no one to come here.
SHE
You suffered me to come.
HE
I meet my debts.
[
Pause
.]
SHE
I have come to listen.
HE
When you please.
[
Pause
.]
SHE
May I squat on this hassock? [
Pause
.] Thank you. [
Pause
.] May we have a little heat?
HE
No, madam.
[
Pause
.]
SHE
Is it true the music goes on all the time?
HE
Yes.
SHE
Without cease?
HE
Without cease.
SHE
It’s unthinkable! [
Pause
.] And the words too? All the time too?
HE
All the time.
SHE
Without cease?
HE
Yes.
SHE
It’s
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